JULY SPEAKER'S REPORT - Bird Carer, Lorraine McPhee

Lorraine, with her many years of bird-care experience gave us a number of critically important points about what to do and not to do when trying to help birds, so I will repeat points from her ‘Fledgling Birds’ leaflet called “So You Think I Can’t Fly!”:..... 

     1. Can the bird you are concerned about Stand and Walk?    
     2. Is the bird Trying to fly?    
     3. Are its Parents nearby?

If it is “Yes” to these three questions, then it has just left the nest and is learning to fly. It is best to put it in the tree near where you found it. The parents are looking for it and they will continue to feed and care for it.

Birds born in tree hollows fly out of their hole....those  born in a nest take up to five days to learn to fly after leaving their nest onto a limb.

If you find an injured bird, wrap a cloth around it, keep it held upright, and put it in a cardboard box, NOT a wire cage, as its wings can be caught and broken by the wires if it starts to flap around. Then take it to a Vet! If properly set and fixed in place, birds’ bones (which are hollow) do heal quickly.

When a bird flies into a window it often suffers (and will die) from a ruptured air sack, so please mark your glass windows and sliding doors with curtains, shades, and/or stickers. 

When dealing with raptors, one must be especially cautious of their talons! And another caution is that Frogmouths do bite! Kookaburra and Emus will adopt new chicks that are not their own; and one can add new ducklings to join up with a flock of its own kind. 

A serious virus in birds is “Beak & Feather Disease” from which about half die, and it is quite contagious between birds. 

Numbers to call when you find an injured animal are:
         1300-Animal (1300 264 625) this is an RSPCA Qld service
        Woop Woop Wildlife Rescue 0417 382 184    (In or near Toowoomba)

Report by Lauren Marlatt 

Some plants and fungi from Toowoomba Field Nats Club trip to Wondul Range National Park & Inglewood State Forest

Photographs and explanation by Mike and Deb Ford, ably assisted by their daughter, Lisa

Eriocaulon sp. Possibly Eriocaulon scariosum, commonly named common, rough
or pale pipewort, a species of tufted grass-like herbaceous plants,  constituting part of the plant family Eriocaulaceae.  Common pipewort plants
grow naturally in wetlands, bogs and drainage areas, from central and eastern Victoria, through eastern New South Wales, including the Australian Capital Territory, to eastern and north Queensland, Australia  (Wikipedia)

.

Cortinarius sp.  Possibly Cortinarius areolatoimbricatus.  Caps to 150 mm across, deeply convex at first, becoming broadly convex and irregular at maturity.  Cap surface is generally covered with overlapping fibrillose
scales.  A robust, fleshy fungus usually found in dense caespitose (several fruiting bodies arising from a common base) clumps with caps distorted by mutual pressure.  Common and widespread in eucalypt forest. (Bruce Fuhrer, A Field Guide to Australian Fungi, Blooming Books Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 2005.









Cryptes baccatus (Wattle Tick Scale) (Family COCCOIDAE, Soft Scale Insects) is a light bluish grey scale insect when young and turns brown with age. Forms colonies of 30-40 on some Acacias including A. melanoxylon. Tended by ants, who take away the sugary exudates.  The insects live within these convex, protective "shells". Scale insects constitute a very large group of unusual plant feeding insects. This group is commonly divided into soft scales and armored scales. (Wingless and legless) adult scales spend their lives under protective shells. Soft scale insects have a waxy film secreted
over their body wall. Armored scales are protected beneath a separate cover secreted over their bodies. Some caterpillars ( e.g. Stathmopoda melanochroa) feed on various species of Scale Insect. Female scale insects
lay their eggs under their bodies or scale covers. When they first hatch, young scales have legs and are quite active. At this stage, they are called
crawlers. Crawlers disperse, locate new feeding sites, and then transform
into immobile adults. (http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/ article by
Robert Whyte and
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_softbugs/WattleTickScale.htm)

Hardenbergia violacea.  Hardenbergia is a small genus of three species, the most common and best known of which is Hardenbergia violacea.  A widespread species occurring in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. It occurs in a variety of habitats from coast to mountains, usually in open forest/woodland and sometimes in heath. Hardenbergia violacea is usually a climbing plant whose branches twist around the stems of other plants. It is moderately vigorous but rarely covers other plants so extensively as to cause damage. Shrubby forms without any climbing tendency
are known. The leaves are dark, glossy green with prominent veins and are 75-100 mm in length. (Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)
http://anpsa.org.au/)






Cyanicula caerulea (Eastern Tiny China Blue Orchid).  Terrestrial orchid of shady forest areas in well-drained soil.  Single leaf to 6 cm x 5 mm.  One bluish-purple flower to 30 mm, on stem to 15 mm tall, winter to spring.
Labellum with dark bars. (Glenn Leiper, Jan Glazebrook, Denis Cox, Kerry Rathie, Mangroves to Mountains, A Field Guide to the Native Plants of South-east Queensland, Logan River Branch SGAP (Qld Region) Inc., 2008.

A History of the Toowoomba Bicentennial Water Bird Habitat by Neil McKilligan

This is not an official history, there is none. It is the possibly imperfect, recollections of someone intimately involved in the project from its earliest beginnings to its completion and beyond.

Earlier times

When in a state of nature, some 200 years ago, Toowoomba was a place of meandering streams and lagoons. These wetlands were mostly reduced to concrete-lined drains as the city was adapted to better suit the needs of urbanization and industrialisation. A small paddock near the corner of Alderley and Mackenzie Streets on East Creek survived total elimination, albeit being greatly modified, for example, as Chinese market gardens. (A well that supplied these gardens has been preserved in the reconstructed parkland). In 1980 it was a cow paddock, drained by several deep ditches and infested with weeds. By about then the Aberdeen Street development had encroached on the eastern side of the swamp giving it an unnaturally steep profile. 

The vision of Ken Ferrier

Enter Ken Ferrier a local man and committed ‘greenie’. Ken recognized the historical and environmental value of this swampy piece of land and I needed little persuasion to his point of view. Together we wrote a submission to go to the Toowoomba City Council for the preservation and development of the East Creek swamp. It was sent jointly by the Toowoomba Field Naturalist Club (TFNC) and Toowoomba Green Watch (TGW). Both of these organizations were actively involved in conservation at that time. The latter is now defunct, regrettably. 

Well this ‘grand plan’ was received with interest by Council who politely ‘put it on the shelf’. However, that was not the end of the matter. The Australian Bicentennial Celebration was to take place in 1988 and each local council had to produce a suitable commemorative project. So we submitted another, more detailed, proposal. Alternatives projects were considered by Council, one being the refurbishment of the Empire Theatre, and costed and rejected. However, the plan for the creation of a water bird habitat on East Creek was adopted in 1983 as Toowoomba’s Bicentennial Project. It had a predicted cost of half a million dollars. Quite a lot of money in those days, to be got from local and federal government and private donations. And seven hectares of land were available, too little really. Work started in 1985. 

Five objectives of the TBWBH

1. To save the swamp
2. To attract a variety of water birds
3.  To encourage passive recreation and education
4.   To have it look attractive
5. To aid in flood mitigation

All have been achieved except number 5, which was a bit optimistic in the light of the massive excavations of flood detention basins presently being undertaken upstream and downstream. 

The Committee.

Peg Iseppi at the 1988 opening of the Habitat

Of course a committee was needed to plan and guide (debate and argue) the Habitat. It comprised Council staff and local bird watchers and conservationists. The TFNC, TGW and Toowoomba Bird Watchers were well represented. I will not attempt to remember all the names but there was Ken, myself and Rod Smith of USQ  (a water engineer). In attendance was the City Engineer Ray Moore. The late Garnett Lehmann was especially good value with his knowledge of earth moving and sympathy for the views of the ‘birdos’. The anchor that held this multifarious bunch together and ensured that the right course was followed was the Chair Person, the late Mrs Peg Iseppi. She was a feisty little lady and had been one of the main movers in the formation of TGW. She smoked like a chimney and had I known then what I know now about the dangers of passive smoking I might have been unhappy sharing the same room with her!. The very attractive ibis statue standing in the North Lake of the TBWBH is a tribute to her achievements.

Designing for birds and people

Platform over the north Lake

About this time Ken Ferrier relocated to Bundanoon in NSW. He was greatly missed. I drew up what I called a ‘conceptual plan’ (so called because it lacked the sort of detail the engineers needed for their on-site excava-tions). Its main elements were three lagoons each with a large, treed island. The plan was adopted by the Committee. A competition was held to decide on a name, with the illustrious poet Bruce Dawe on the naming sub-committee. Despite there being many good entries the ‘Toowoomba Bicentennial Water Bird Habitat’ was adopted. The safe option, but at least descriptive. Large machinery was brought in to divert East Creek from its main course to allow the basin to dry sufficiently for earth removing. Three large holes were dug and islands created. Across Mackenzie Street a Sedimentation Pond was dug to catch silt and allow for its easy removal. An Ephemeral Pond was belatedly proposed for an empty area of grassland on the southeast corner. Clive Berghofer generously provided the machinery to create this.

Domestic ducks

The concept was to confine people to one side, the west side, of the Habitat and an unobtrusive fence was installed for this purpose. A high perimeter fence was put in place to keep out human and animal intruders and the gates were to be locked from dusk to dawn. Two viewing platforms on Aberdeen Street allowed for 24 hour observation. Extending over the North Lake a large wooden platform provided easy access to the water’s edge for little persons wishing to feed the ducks. A hide was built at a later date, with my rough sketches being converted into useable plans by local architect, the late Bill Durack. It was to be placed on the end of an island in the South Lake. Bench seats were built by two Field Nats., John Swarbrick and Mike Russell. A toilet, paved paths and picnic tables were provided by Council. The brick toilet was in my opinion out of character with the natural surroundings, but it proved to be quite functional. A novel feature, built by local Jaycees, were floating islands in two of the lakes. Volunteer groups and private citizens planted trees and shrubs, mainly around the perimeter and on the islands.

Important ‘small’ details included a gap under the internal fence to allow for the passage of ducklings from their nest holes to the safety of the water, the preservation of the flyway (gap in the trees) from the southwest to the northeast for larger birds with a shallow take-off trajectory, bench seats placed on the lagoon side of the pathway to preserve the view of bird watchers.

Eastern Swamphen

  

Report on Club Outing to Mulgowie - 7 June, 2015

The June outing to the Mulgowie property of Doug and Deirdre Smith was a very successful one.  Doug and Deirdre have been long-term residents of the Lockyer Valley and part of Land for Wildlife for 10 years. They share a strong commitment to the natural environment and aim to maintain and enhance the natural values of their property through weed management, revegetation and a major reduction in grazing. Ninety percent of the property has been mapped by the Queensland Herbarium as remnant forest and the rest as high value regrowth. The geology is an interesting mix of sandstone ridges with their associated sandy soils and weathered basalts.

The convoy of Nats vehicles had no sooner arrived than Doug pointed out a great spot for morning tea which fortified us for the planned exploration of the property. We began by following the attractive waterway, the upper section of Middle Lockyer Creek. This area was once dominated by thick lantana that had been cleared and sprayed. Replanting was then undertaken, with silky oaks, red cedars, she-oaks, sandpaper figs and native grasses. Doug drew our attention to the endangered Bailey’s Cypress Pines (Callitris baileyi) on the opposite slope, one a mature tree and the others grown from tube stock.

We reached the more open hill slopes where clearing of lantana and tree pears had been done below the over-storey of eucalypts, followed by planting of various natives. At one point, some of the group climbed a steep slope for better views, while others stayed around a small dam, observing birds, insects and several butterflies. Then we completed the loop track back to the house grounds.

A leisurely lunch on the grass below the house was interrupted by excellent sightings of a pair of Pacific Bazas, which caused much excitement and activity with binoculars and cameras. These large hawks are described as uncommon residents of the forests and woodlands of Eastern Australia.

Before we left for home, via UQ’s Gatton Campus for some waterbird watching, warm thanks were expressed for Doug and Deirdre’s hospitality, and admiration for their achievements.                                       

by Diane Pagel

Magpie Goose

 Whistling Duck , Grey Teal, Black Ducks 

(Above photos by Glenda Jackson)

Bird List for June Outing: (Compiled by Tricia Allen from members' sightings).

Mulgowie area:

Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Baza, Crested Pigeon, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Superb Fairywren, Spotted Pardalote (heard), Striated Pardalote (heard), Noisy Miner, Eastern Whipbird, Scarlet Robin, Golden Whistler, Willy Wagtail, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike (heard), Pied Butcherbird, Grey Butcherbird, Australasian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Red-Browed Finch.

The sighting of the Mulgowie section of the day were the two Pacific Bazas (2) which appeared and stayed in the trees above our lunch spot, and were clearly seen by all.

Gatton College Dams:

Magpie Goose, Australasian Grebe, Plumed Whistling Duck, Pink-eared Duck (hundreds!), Grey Teal, Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck, Intermediate Egret, White Ibis, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Eurasian Coot, Caspian Tern, Crested Pigeon, Brown Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Magpie Lark, Noisy Miner, Welcome Swallow, Martin sp.

Butterfly List: (Compiled by Michael Rooke from members' sightings)

Doug and Deirdre Smith's property, Mulgowie:

Little Grass Yellow, Large Grass Yellow, Wanderer, Common Eggfly.

Report on June Speaker

"Fantastic!...fantastic!..." was the praise for guest speaker Pat McConnell's presentation at the June meeting by member Peter Evans, who moved the vote of thanks.

Pat, experienced bird observer and photographer, spoke about his visit to Costa Rica, with his wife Kath, and illustrated his talk with magnificent photos of the diverse variety of birds and other wildlife, for which Costa Rica is famous.

"Fantastic" are some of the statistics for this Central American country. Costa Rica is known for its progressive environmental policies, and has been identified as the "greenest country in the world." The Government has a policy of renewable energy, and aims for Costa Rica to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021. It has
less than one percent deforestation, and, in 2012, it became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting.

On Pat and Kath's tour, their guide was the author of a book on the birds of Costa Rica, so they were under expert guidance in this amazing tropical country with its rugged mountain ranges, volcanoes (some active) and lakes. Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the
world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. About 25% of Costa Rica is national parks and other protected areas, and eco-tourism is very popular.

In this country the size of Tasmania, there are about 850 species of birds, including 47 resident humming birds. One of Pat's many eye-catching photos showed a miniature humming bird perched on a finger as it fed from an artificial feeder. These feeders are widely used to attract humming birds, and other bird species, to tourist areas.

Pat's photos were so captivating, that it was difficult to take notes during his talk! But some of the many excell-ent photos that come to mind (apart from the almost unbelievable colours of the diverse bird species!) were of the red-tailed squirrel, toucan (one of Costa Rica's six toucan species), nightjar, roseate spoonbill, macaw, pygmy owl, laughing falcon, and white-faced capuchin monkey (one of four monkey species in Costa Rica) - not forgetting Pat's mention of the snake species, the jumping viper!

Many thanks to Pat for his fascinating presentation - and for his memory of so many bird names! (And thanks too to those club members who persisted with the computer technology so that the wonderful pictures could be shown on the screen!  

Michael Rooke

                                                                                                                     

Report on outing to the Bunya Mountains - May 2015

To begin I must say the TFNC are a wonderful bunch of people for making the best of things. On the first day someone said to me “You can plan for most things but you can’t plan the weather”! On Thursday afternoon we arrived in light rain which continued and became heavier on Friday. Despite this, a cheerful group assembled for drinks at our lodge on Thursday evening and most appeared in full rainwear at Fisher’s Lookout on Friday morning to meet Maurie, the Aboriginal ranger. He finally caught up with us at the National Parks Information Centre and spoke briefly before agreeing to return on Sunday afternoon. We retreated to Udakak for coffee and watched the rain intensify. Bill McDonald offered to do his talk on Borneo on Friday afternoon and that was an excellent way to occupy a wet afternoon. We estimate that well over 100mm of rain fell that day. Neil kept the log fire burning so we were all cosy and dry. All assembled there again in the evening for a shared meal.

The rain cleared on Saturday and we were able to go to Westcott and walk back to Paradise. The birdlife was disappointing for the birdos though Lesley, in her efficient way, accumulated an impressive list by the end of the weekend. The botanists, assisted by experts, Bill and Gwen Harden, were not so affected by the weather as demonstrated by their taking three hours to walk the 3.2 kilometres studying the big range and diversity of plants along the way. A late lunch was followed by a workshop conducted by Gwen and Bill on their new digital plant ID key which was valuable to those interested. The barbecue on Saturday night was also held at Udakak as it had a large gas barbecue and plenty of verandah space.

On Sunday morning about 20 of us pooled cars and drove to the Seton’s property “Warmga Park” where we saw a different suite of plants and birds and were impressed by the efficient way in which Bernice and Don have adapted to Don’s disability so that, even in his wheelchair, he was able to join us exploring the property.

The cloud descended again and the wind got up so that by 2.00pm it was quite unsuitable for Maurie’s walks and talks which, sadly, were abandoned. Some of us walked to Festoon Falls at Dandabah and the rest followed their own interests. We met at the Gardner’s lodge at 4.30pm for last drinks, additions to the bird list, and formal thanks to Bill and Gwen for sharing their expertise with us. I thank you all for your understanding and kind words and the lovely box of chocolates presented to me. Dinner at Elz Bistro was, I think, above expectations and then, on Monday morning, after packing up, we met again at Poppies for coffee, thereby sharing our largesse, before final farewells and the trek home.

So much more to see and do at this wonderful destination with its majestic Bunya Pines, diverse birdlife and wallabies quietly grazing on the kikuyu lawns - but it will have to wait for another occasion.

Report by Elizabeth Russell

Murri History of Bunya Mountains

May Day was cold, wet and misty at 1000 metres on Bunya Mountains. We retreated from Fisher’s Lookout to the National Parks office at Dandabah. Here Maurie, a Murri ranger, talked to us, in a rather quiet voice, about the importance of Bunya Mountains (Booburrgan Ngmmunge) to the Murri people.

He told us that Booburrgan Ngmmunge is regarded by Murri people over a wide area as their spiritual Mother. Likewise the bunya nuts are the mother’s milk. Tribes (mobs) came from as far apart as the Sydney to Rock-hampton areas every third year for the Bunya Feast. The tribes were summoned by lighting the grass on some of the balds. As these were seen by other mobs they, in turn, lit fires on traditional high points and so the message quickly spread over the great distances. Of course mobs at the furthest extremes took months to arrive. By this time the burned grass on the balds was regrowing and providing grazing for macropods. So this resource was also available to the visitors.

The Bunya Feasts were important for inter-tribal discussions on boundaries, ceremonies and relationships generally, for coming of age and marriage ceremonies, for dream-time stories and religious rites such as dances, and for harvesting and feasting on the bunya nuts.

Maurie told us about the recent (2011) plan for Murri rangers to take over responsibility for managing Russell Park and the rest of the Bunya Mountains National Park under auspices of the ‘Caring for Country’ program.  This will give better protection to this very important Murri site. He handed out literature to us explaining this plan in much more detail.

In view of the weather Maurie suggested that we delay visits with him to the bunya nut forests and the balds to Sunday afternoon. Maurie lives some distance away at Wondai so it would have taken up all of a week-end afternoon and, by Sunday, the weather hadn't improved enough so the outing was cancelled. This was a pity as there was much more we would like to have heard about. Another time!  

Report by Mike Russell

Insect report -- Bunya Mountains weekend

Plutellidae moth

The weather on the Bunya Mountains weekend was not the best for insects. The only butterfly I could positively ID was a Caper White. There were a few brave moths on the walk from Westcliff to Paradise, the most notable being from the family Plutellidae (thanks to Mike Ford), possibly Leuroperna sera species (see photo).  Length about 8-10mm.

Harlequin bug

There were a few unidentified micro moths and some small moths from the Pyralidae family. The visit to Don and Bernice Seton near Bell added a Cabbage White butterfly, a Small Grass Yellow, a moth from the Cram-bidae Family, possibly Spoladea recurvalis, and a number from Pyralidae family. There were also Harlequin bugs, Tectocoris diophthalmus,(see photo), family Scutelleridae, also known as shield-backed bugs.

Report by Don Gardener

Plants at the Bunyas

Despite the rain, the Field Nats managed (in their usual style) to have a great weekend at the Bunyas. A high-light was the walk from Westcott to Paradise, with Bill McDonald and Gwen Harden. It was a real pleasure to be out with people who knew the plants so well, and could explain some subtle (and perhaps less subtle) botan-ical points. The plant of interest in the photo (see page 4) is not a moss, as most of us had thought, but a leafy liverwort. That particular walk is a good one as it offers much variety with a rather easy three kilometre walk. There is a lot of rainforest edge, a few small bits of Eucalypt woodland, and lovely views over the Darling Downs. I put several of the plants onto my blog, (http://toowoombaplants2008.blogspot.com.au) for those who would like to have a look.

Report by Trish Gardner

Bunya Mountains plant list, May 2015: Westcott to Paradise

Northern end – Dry Rainforest		Southern End – Cool, Sub-tropical Rainforest
Trees Euodia micrococca Streblus brunonianus Cryptocarya obovata Polyscias elegans Alectryon pubescens Euroschinus falcatus Eucalyptus tereticornis subsp. basaltica Diospyros australis Rhodosphaera rhodanthema Myrsine variabilis Shrubs Capparis arborea Sambucus australasica Claoxylon australe Geijera salicifolia (in flower) Elatostema xylocarpa Hibiscus heterophyllus Alyxia ruscifolia (in flower & fruit)	Vines Smilax australis Sicyos australis Sarcostemma viminale subsp. brunonianum Marsdenia lloydii Flagellaria indica Stephania aculeata Herbs Urtica incisa Parietaria debilis Stipa verticilliata Poa labillardiera Ferns Adiantum atroviride Doodia aspera Lastreopsis decompositum Pyrrosia confluens Weeds Urtica dioica Unknown Papillaria – should have asked Bill about this one.	Trees Brachychiton discolor Syzygium australe Baloghia inophylla Dendrocnide excelsa Diploglottis australis Guioa semiglauca Eucalyptus eugenioides Olea paniculata Neolitsea australis Omalanthus populifolius Ficus macrophylla Diospyros pentamera Elaeocarpus kirtonii (Mowbullan Whitewood) Ficus obliqua Citronella moorei Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Cryptocarya obovata Litsea reticulata Araucaria bidwillii Ferns Dictymia brownii Arthropteris tenella	Vines Embelia australiana Ripogonum brevifolium Parsonsia velutina Pandorea pandorana Eustrephus latifolius Geitonoplesium cymosum Cayratia clematoides Legnephora moorei Cynanchum bowmanii (check sp. with Bill) Celastrus australis Piper hederaceum Rubus moluccanus Morinda jasminoides Herbs Dianella caerulea Bulbine bulbosa Lomandra  longifolia Pollia crispate Plectranthus sp. Weeds Opuntia tomentosa (Tree Pear) Lantana camara

Compiled by Mike Russell

Plants at the Seton Property, Bell - 03 May 2015

As a club, we don’t spend much time in brigalow scrubs, so this was a particularly interesting place for us to visit. The scrub on this property, though obviously reduced from what would have been its original condition, still contains a delightfully rich variety of plants of the dry rainforest type. This would be a good part of the reason why the property supports such a rich and interesting variety of bird life - much more than we would usually find in such open country. There was only time to make a very quick survey of the plants, but here is some of what we found. (I didn’t include the gumtrees or the wattles, of which there were a number of species, except for the keynote wattle.)

Acacia harpophylla BRIGALOW, Alectryon diversifolius SCRUB BOONAREE, Alphitonia excelsa SOAP ASH, Amyema congener VARIABLE MISTLETOE, Amyema miquellii on Eucalyptus sp. RUSSET MISTLETOE,
Apophyllum anomalum WARRIOR BUSH, Atalaya salicifolia BRUSH WHITEWOOD, Brachychiton populneus KURRAJONG, Brachychiton rupestris COMMON BOTTLE TREE, Breynia oblongifolia BREYNIA, Callitris glauca WHITE CYPRESS, Capparis lasiantha SPLIT JACK, Capparis loranthifolia (?) NARROW LEAF CAPER TREE,
Capparis mitchellii MITCHELL’S CAPER TREE, Cayratia clematidea SLENDER WATER VINE, Denhamia bilocularis (Maytenus bilocularis) HEDGE ORANGEBARK, Elaeodendron australe RED OLIVE PLUM, Erythroxylon sp. Splityard Ck REDWOOD BUSH, Flindersia australis CROWS ASH, Flindersia collina LEOPARD ASH, Geijera parvifolia COMMON WILGA, Geijera salicifolia SCRUB WILGA, Jasminum didymum subsp. racemosum TRIPLE LEAF JASMINE, Jasminum simplicifolium STIFF JASMINE, Lysiana subfalcata on Alectryon subdentatus BANANA MISTLETOE, Maireana microphylla SMALL LEAFED COTTONBUSH, Parsonsia eucalyptophylla GARGALOO VINE, Parsonsia straminea MONKEY ROPE VINE, Pittosporum spinescens WALLABY APPLE, Pittosporum viscidum BIRDS NEST BUSH, Psydrax odoratum subsp. buxifolium (canthium buxifolium) BOX LEAFED CANTHIUM.

Report compiled by Trish Gardner

Bird Report for TFNC Bunya Mountains Camp, 30 April-04 May 2015

The rain on the first two days kept the birds quiet but they came out on the Sunday. Early that morning at Bid-willi Crescent, where I was staying, three Wonga Pigeons, a Yellow-throated Scrubwren, an Eastern Yellow Robin and numerous Satin Bowerbirds were foraging in the damp grass verges. More Satin Bowerbirds and Figbirds were in the large fig across the road. Then there were all the calls coming from the surrounding forest.

Our excursion to Warmga Park near Bell supplied an abundance of bush birds even while sitting on the veranda for morning tea. Unfortunately there was too much water around to tempt any ducks to the dams. However the bird of the camp would have to be the Diamond Firetail seen by Mary-Ann and Genevieve at the Dandabah Camping Area. This species is a rarity for the Bunyas.

Bird Species (total 76 species)

Australian Brush-turkey, White-headed Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Topknot Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Australian King-Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Southern Boobook, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Tree-creeper, Green Catbird, Regent Bowerbird, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, White-browed Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Brown Honey-eater, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Paradise Riflebird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Bassian Thrush, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch, Diamond Firetail. (44 species)

Birds seen at Seton’s property, Warmga Park:

Crested Pigeon, Bar-shouldered Dove, Straw-necked Ibis, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen Kestrel, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cockatiel, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Red-rumped Parrot, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Weebill, Yellow Thornbill, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Striated Pardalote, Noisy Miner, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Grey-crowned Babbler, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Australasian Figbird, Olive-backed Oriole, Grey Butcher-bird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Australian Raven, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Apostlebird, Rose Robin, Silvereye, Common Myna, Mistletoebird, Zebra Finch, Double-barred Finch. (44 species)

Birds not already listed seen on roadside between Bunyas and Warmga Park:

White-faced Heron, Masked Lapwing, Pheasant Coucal. (3 species)

Report compiled by Lesley Beaton

Bill, Gwen, and leafy liverwort

Psydrax odorata forma buxifolia fruit 

(Photos: Trish Gardener)

Bill McDonald’s talk on Borneo 

It was a rainy day outside, the mountain covered in mist and a bit of a chill in the air. It was a perfect opportunity to hear about the tropical forests of Borneo from our dear friend Bill McDonald while in the comfort of a lounge room with a fire. Bill has been volunteering his botanical skills to various conservation and research organisations in Sabah, Borneo, for years. Although Bill spoke about many conservation reserves it was Danum Valley that stood out in my mind.

Danum Valley is a large reserve being one of the most important conservation areas in SE Asia and includes the very important Danum Valley Field Centre part of SEARRP (South East Asian Rainforest Research Project). It covers a large area of predominantly lowland rainforest and has outstanding biodiversity. This reserve is extremely important as surrounding areas have been/are being logged for a number of reasons.

Palm oil is a major issue for Indonesia with much of the natural forest being converted to this economic crop.  Other issues include the logging of rainforest trees (Dipterocarpus) to provide the market with Merantia common timber found in hardware stores everywhere. In response to these markets a number of conservation organisations have arisen. Bill spoke to us about these concerning issues with such conviction (and highlighting the complexity) I’m sure many in the audience were considering volunteering their time to help (I know I was).

Bill also shared his experiences of the beauty and uniqueness of the tropical forests in this area including its creatures. Of course the orangutans are a key species of these forests and we have all heard about the devastating impact that palm plantations have had on their population, but to see other creatures such as the gibbons, pygmy elephants and sun bears reinforces how diverse and important the rainforests of this area are. I was amazed at Bill's photos of the hornbills; they seemed like a fantastical bird from a Sir David Attenborough documentary. The gingers were not unlike the ones in our region but they were varied and spectacular in their flowering, Borneo being home to a large number of Zingiberaceae species. Bill's photos were so vivid you could imagine the beautiful rhododendrons bursting with colour in their natural environment. Overall Bill’s talk not only illustrated the importance of conservation of this area but also informed us about the beauty that can be seen when visiting. It was a truly inspiring talk and one that will hopefully help us to become better consumers and inspire me one day to visit this unique and important area. For more information

http://www.searrp.org          http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically/palmoilfreelist.aspx

(Report by Jane Orme)

Bunya Mountains Fungi

The Bunya trip was not only a very enjoyable few days away but also proved excellent for fungi hunting. In fact the haul was so great that identifying all the specimens (from photos) was somewhat overwhelming. I managed to put names to 55 genera, many having multiple species e.g. Mycena. There are still a large number of unidentified ones and the Ascomycetes and Slime Moulds are not included.

The weed fungus Favolaschia calocera (orange ping pong bats) was much in evidence throughout the Bunyas.  Jim and I stayed up there an extra night and overall walked six different tracks and saw this Madagascan import on all of them. It probably usurps niches some of the native species should occupy.

Another widespread, noticeable and attractive fungus was Stereum ostrea, a leathery bracket common on dead wood in wet native forests. This fungus has large, thin, funnel-shaped fruit bodies often massed along the whole length of a fallen tree trunk. Colours grade from brown at the base through orange and yellow to cream edges.  Also present was the  leathery fungus Cymatoderma elegans which was not so prevalent but the individual specimens are quite large and have a very pleasing cream goblet shape on a brown woody stem.

The split-gill fungus Schizophyllum commune was found on the Dandebah circuit. I did not realize until checking the identification that it is dangerous to smell this one as the spores are known to cause a serious lung infection. The smell of Piptoporus australiensis (curry punk) is unavoidable. I saw a huge specimen on a very large fallen tree beside the road as we were driving along so stopped the car to investigate. There were a few fungal masses on the trunk, the largest being about two thirds of a metre across. The smell was quite frankly appalling but two days later had entirely dissipated.  

At the other end of the size scale was the prettiest small clump of orange fungi covered with a white velvety down. Each hemispherical cap was less than 10mm across and they were nestled in a cavity in the wood. These I have identified. Some Coprinellus desseminatus made up for their small size by inhabiting an area of about 1.5 square metres of earth around the base of an old tree.

One of the most spectacular fungi was found on the Barker Creek circuit near the Big Falls Lookout junction.  There were several clusters of the coral fungus Hericeum coralloides ranging in size from 20mm to 180mm and consisting of white branched downward pointing spines. A favourite of mine is Calvatia, a large puffball which I call ‘brain fungus’. There were a few found on a number of walks.

Brain fungus (Calvatia sp.)

To explain the problems of identification: an unusual pale orange toothed variety should have been easy to name. In fact there was a picture of what appeared to be the very one in my old 1979 Field Guide to Fungi of South-Eastern Australia, authors Ross Macdonald and John Westerman. It was under Hydnums and labelled Odontia australis. Not finding this in any other reference book Google was consulted. The site suggested Odontia was misnamed and should be Grandinia australis though the current name is actually Hyphodontia australis. Checking Hyphodontia I discovered it appeared to be a resupinate fungus i.e. a crust lying flat against the wood.  The Bunya specimen was definitely tiered, having both top surface and teeth underneath.

Back to the references and Antrodiella zonata in A Field Guide to Australian Fungi, author Bruce Fuhrer (2011ed) seemed a fairly close match but the ‘teeth’, of which there was a photo, were white. However in A Field Guide to Tasmanian Fungi, authors Genevieve Gates and David Ratkowsky (2014) Antrodiella zonata is described as having an under surface of apricot pink. I won’t quibble about colour names, this looks like the Bunya specimen. You wonder why I haven’t managed to identify all the others!  

Article and photos by Diana Ball

Antrodiella sp

       Coral Fungus

John Gould’s Extinct & Endangered mammals of Australia written by Fred Ford

The ornithologist, John Gould was captivated by Australia’s fauna on his first visit in 1838.  A year later he returned to Australia to pursue his passion for birds but also to carry out scientific research on the unique fauna of Australia.  He made sketches and descriptions of all he saw (or did not see firsthand) and his wife, Elizabeth, was to make the coloured plates for the folios he was intending to produce for the thirsty market of Victorian England.  John Gilbert (remembered by Gilbert’s potoroo and Gilbert’s dunnart) was his collector of the species found in Victoria, Northern Territory and the Darling Downs of Queensland.  Gould never travelled to the interior so his information was based on dead specimens given to him by others.  Local aboriginal peoples added to the collection and in this way Gould was informed of the ways that aboriginal people interacted with the fauna, their hunting methods, and what was good to eat.  Gould painted and sketched parts of the Australian fauna; he was no taxonomist and only included 39 of 56 recognised mammals and 40 of 149 species of bats and rodents.  Gould’s specimens remain in the Natural History Museum in London and his sketches bring these to life.

Gould realised that he was privileged to be in Australia at that stage of settlement and that this Australia was on track to disappear.  Gould published his folios in 1863. If he had been 50 years later then he would be reporting a great loss of species.  (Indeed, it is to our shame that half the world’s fauna extinctions in the last 200 years have occurred in Australia.)  Twenty seven species are lost for ever and Gould had encountered 16 of these in 1839.  Fortunately Gould’s prediction that the koala was destined for extinction has not come true.  Sadly, rabbits and stock have stripped ground cover and allowed fragile soils to be washed away.  Poisoning of rabbits and trapping has impacted on bandicoot, bilby possum and bettong numbers and the decline in rabbit numbers has also allowed the increase in fox populations. 

In this wonderful book John Gould’s Extinct & Endangered mammals of Australia, Fred Ford has married Gould’s illustrations and his findings with all-too -depressing information on the current state of affairs.  He moves through the illustrations with whimsical information on the interactions in the kitchen between native fauna and the settler.  Rather than eating rabbits, early settlers tried curried bandicoot and the newspapers printed recipes for cooking wombat and wallabies.  Ford begins with the thylacine: Gould’s lively illustration is juxtaposed against that sad photo of the last thylacine in captivity, a mere 100 years after the first settlement of Hobart.  In Gould’s own words

“When the comparatively small island of Tasmania becomes more densely populated and its primitive forests are intersected by roads…the numbers of this singular animal will diminish…extermination will have its full sway…”

Ford plots the last 150 years of the demise of the native fauna and the state of play today: the small isolated pockets of southern brown bandicoot; the extinction of the tammar in mainland South Australia; the extinction of the Toolache, which Gould named as the grey wallaby, and described as

“One of the most fleet and agile members of its race. Its favourite places of resort are flats near the sea-shore…”

The lesser stick rat, described by Gould in 1853, was extinct before anyone could accurately describe this species.

As much as this book is about Gould, it tells our story too.  How fortunate he was to come to Australia when he did.  How much his writing and illustrations activate us to not let his predictions come true for the native fauna we have left today, albeit scattered and in need of protection.

I heartedly recommend this book, published by the National Library of Australia) to all who care about natural history and care enough to be proactive in protecting what precious fauna we have left.

(Reviewed by Linda Mangubhai)